City ordinance
by archangel fighter
Summary: After the brutal death of her sister, Hama realizes a deeper intention: to have her go the same way. Terrified and disturbed by the events following, she makes a difficult decision; to leave.


Hey guys; there's been a severe lack of updating being done with my main fic: Test of Time. I apologize for that, but there's just a surplus of...stuff happening in my life right now. so in the meantime, enjoy this little fluff I wrote in the meantime. I'm in a bit of a grimdark mood lately, so this will probably not be a happy ending.

CHAPTER 1 "Awakening"

Run. That's what needed to be done now. I was no longer a hunter; I was one of the hunted. My breathing remained steady as I ran as fast as I could, using my chakra to propel myself even faster. Utilizing my enhanced vision to check for pursuers, I found nothing. _It seems I__'ve__ dispatched the only nin__ja__ after me and-_ I cut my thought off short.

_Stop thinking, _I told myself, _just run._ Although the odds of being killed on sight were astronomical, I had little choice. I didn't care about the nonexistent trust there would be for a member of hidden cloud. Konoha was one of the most powerful ninja villages; and that's what I needed. Power meant safety. As I neared the border of Lightning, I sensed a few ninja on the outskirts of my vision. Suddenly, I could sense the chakra of three. I stopped, and shifted into a defensive stance. Glancing around the mountainous terrain surrounding me, I quickly spotted my attackers. I narrowed my eyes and saw the masks they wore. Hunter-nin. One of them, female, spoke in a clear, cold voice when they were about 20 feet in front of me.

"You're going back to Cloud with us. Dead or alive; whichever you prefer."

"Or…not at all." I responded. "That was _not_ a choice." She scoffed, signaling to one of the other ninja. I blinked, and unleashed my jutsu. Swiftly sidestepping a kunai, I flash-stepped behind my opponent and used enhanced jabs to begin my attack. Watching with detached fascination as he coughed up blood, I halted my attack when I saw him fall to the ground.

The others spared no time in collaborating a genjutsu. Thanks to my jutsu, I saw straight through the clones that had been summoned. Attacking at once, I ignored the insubstantial wounds and pain that accumulated as I knocked through them, intent on the hunters in front of me. Releasing my chakra, I flew through hand signs and locked gazes with the other male nin. He grunted and fell, trapped in a genjutsu. His portion of the clones disappeared.

One left. I glanced around and saw the remainder of the clones, coming in for another attack. Not willing to fight the other hunter, I kept the genjutsu in effect and began to strike through clones like mad. Unzipping my back pocket, I grabbed a handful of senbon and flung them in an arc around me. Satisfied with the sights and sounds of clones disappearing, I cleared the area. A satisfied sigh left my lips as the hunter collapsed, a few of my senbon peeking up from his chest. The remaining hunter smirked and jumped in close for a physical attack. I pivoted and slammed my knee into her stomach. Not wasting a second, I quickly dug the tips of my fingers into the main nerve clusters in her neck. She fell to her knees and I put my head by hers.

"Who really sent you?" I whispered into her ear. No answer. I tched and weaved more hand signs before leaping away and beginning my marathon with renewed vigor.

Releasing the genjutsus when I felt I had had enough time to get away, I allowed the chakra to flood my feet again, my abused body screaming in protest. I kept a steady pace as I ran, trying to conserve what chakra I could. As much distance as I had made in four days, there was still further to go.

The miles drug on, and I tapped reserve after reserve of chakra in my body. I felt exhaustion clouding my mind, its powerful claws already working on my senses. I could see a forest growing on the horizon, the heat making it dance comically. I grabbed the last ration in my pack, and quickly tore through it. It did little to satisfy, as the four day sprint had done much to tear down my body, along with my mind. I choked down some water, my blistered throat agonizing with each swallow. I pulled out a small scarf as the wind whipped up, wrapping the lower half of my face carefully. The sun drew higher as the day wore on, the forest growing incrementally every few hours. By the time night fell, my body begged rest. I couldn't afford a reprieve at the moment though, as there was still a while to go until Konoha. Nearing the tree line, I increased the power of my genjutsu; hopefully making it powerful enough to mask my presence against any would be attackers. As a result, my increased speed began to wane. I grunted as I made a leap into the incoming branches. While I lost speed stopping the flow of chakra to my feet, I made up for a percentage of it by launching myself off each branch my foot made contact with. The sweet smell of the forest assaulted me, and I was momentarily overwhelmed by the sensation of cool air caressing my body. The moon cast dark shadows along the forest floor; shadows that seemed to dance as I leapt by. I lifted my face to the sky, closing my eyes and allowing the joy I had been holding back to flow through me. Opening my eyes slowly, I stared up at the large moon that would peek through the trees every now and then. Its light bathed me and I was momentarily amazed by the beauty of the scene. Shocked, I lifted a hand to my eye and felt the moisture that had escaped there. Shaking my head, I shifted my attention the front and pushed myself further, the shadows I created seemingly moving in tandem with those on the lush floor.

By the time the sun had started to rise, I was on my last leg. I had used the last chakra reserve hours before sunrise, and had begun feeling the effects of exertion. From my calculations, and the assistance of the map I had memorized weeks earlier, I estimated I had at least another two hours or so to make it to the gates of konoha. Problem was, I knew I wouldn't make it that far. My panting was starting to take on a desperate, almost asthmatic quality, and my lungs, as well as the rest of my body, had long since numbed of the burning sensation I had suffered till that point. I untied the scarf from my face, and used it to wipe off some of the sweat beading on my forehead. A few miles or so later, I could feel my body shutting down.

_Just a bit further, please, _I begged of my body, _it can't be much further to the gates…_ my thoughts faded as fast as the darkness closed in. In the last few moments of consciousness I had left, I opened a scroll retrieved from my side pocket. Pain blossomed as I fell pathetically to the forest floor. Branches and camouflage covered me, and the iridescent light blinded me a split second before I gave in to the welcoming darkness.

And I dreamt.

At first, colors. Shapes. Sounds. Swirls of beautiful music made light, their notes taking form before me. It warmed my heart, lifted my spirit as though hugging an old friend. The gentle warmth spread throughout my body. As time went on, however, I felt a sense of dread swelling. Words and shapes were building around me, sense was returning to my world. But I didn't want that. Why didn't I want that? An enormous shaft of pain ripped through my head as I resisted. I mentally screamed, knowing that it likely extended to my waking body as well. Without warning, I was suddenly visited by the darkness.

And this time, there were no shapes. No colors. No music to greet me. Instead, there was blood. Oh god, so much blood. Without my volition, my mind went through the motions I had long since tried to forget. My heart rate increased, its pounding echoing in my ears. The areas around the blood took shape, slowly, agonizingly, until the full scene was clear. I could feel the warm tears building up, a deep contrast to the coldness of dread my body was experiencing. Moving forward slowly, the blood drudged along the soles of my shoes. Ringing silence muffled my head; even the pounding in my mind had ceased. I knew what was coming, and tried to fight the urge to look down. My efforts earned me naught but the pain from before, albeit less severe. My head roared with distant agony as I looked down. My breath caught, my throat hitching painfully. I looked at a face. My face. Into eyes that reflected fear. Pain. Regret. Blood soaked my clothes as I picked up her body. My body. I began to cry, my heart and soul falling as one. My cries escalated into a scream. A scream that tore my mind, silenced my thoughts, impressing into me the pain reflected in her features. And I looked into her eyes. My eyes.

Run.

The sunlight peeked through the blinds, its light an offense on my sensitive eyes. I blinked, turning my head. _Oh shit, should not have done that._ I cried out as pain echoed around my head, and shot down my body. Struggling to make sense of the room I was in, I took a quick stock of my situation. _Arms and legs held down. No doubt those're chakra dampeners in the cuffs. Cut off from my chakra. No problem. Abnormal vertical shadows on the bed. Without moving my head, bars are on the windows. I can feel Stiches. None of my wounds warranted stiches; so someone's done some digging in my body. Possibly placed a tracking cloth in me somewhere. Oh. And pain. Not going anywhere anytime soon._

_Damn._

"Well well, she wakes." There was an amused cough as my door opened and closed.


End file.
